Advice please for micing this drum kit setup.

[Marko 1]

This is my kit (my rehearsal room) with the new drummer's added two toms.

Yeah, I know what it looks like, lol... but he's a good drummer and a great guy.

This will be the setup with his kit when we hit the stage again (not for a couple months).

I'm used to 4 or 5 pc, I close-mic snare and toms with mics that clamp to the rims, standard kick mic setup, never did overheads.

I'm short one tom mic now (have only one extra), and would rather not mic all these toms individually,

so I was thinking (scary, I know), just mic the snare, kick, and one overhead on the tom side of the kit.

Is that a thing?

 

[Marko 1]

Sorry, here's the kit.

 

[Deleted member 365158]

This is my kit (my rehearsal room) with the new drummer's added two toms.

Yeah, I know what it looks like, lol... but he's a good drummer and a great guy.

This will be the setup with his kit when we hit the stage again (not for a couple months).

I'm used to 4 or 5 pc, I close-mic snare and toms with mics that clamp to the rims, standard kick mic setup, never did overheads.

I'm short one tom mic now (have only one extra), and would rather not mic all these toms individually,

so I was thinking (scary, I know), just mic the snare, kick, and one overhead on the tom side of the kit.

Is that a thing?

I’ve gotten “good enough” sound for toms with just kick, snare and 2 overhead mics for small venue stuff.
Also I have placed a mic to share between 2 toms that are close to each other. That is a better option if you can find a good place to put it.
You seem to have time to play around with placements, are you record capable? That might help to be able to listen back and hear what works best for you.

 

[Marko 1]

I’ve gotten “good enough” sound for toms with just kick, snare and 2 overhead mics for small venue stuff.
Also I have placed a mic to share between 2 toms that are close to each other. That is a better option if you can find a good place to put it.
You seem to have time to play around with placements, are you record capable? That might help to be able to listen back and hear what works best for you.

Thanks for the response...

Do I have to use two overheads?

I can mic two toms with one mic, but then I can't use my drum/tom mics that have integrated rim clips, that's why I'm hoping one overhead will cover it, and save me some mics and channels.

 

[Deleted member 365158]

Thanks for the response...

Do I have to use two overheads?

I can mic two toms with one mic, but then I can't use my drum/tom mics that are have integrated rim clips, that's why I'm hoping one overhead will cover it, and save me some mics and channels.

You don’t have to use 2 overheads. 1 will probably work depending on where you place it…. It’ll be difficult to not get cymbals in that mic though…. Everything else for that matter.
Again, playing around with placements will be key. Trial and error my friend
What mic will you use for the overhead?

just for reference, I’ve done sound for small shows(indoor and outdoor) where i just didn’t have enough channels to close mic drums because of too many people and instruments on stage. Mics on the kick, snare and 2 overheads was enough for me to get the full drum kit in the mix with some creative EQ. Was it ideal?? Not really but it was “good enough” to get the drums audible with everything else. The 2 overheads also spread out the drums in the stereo mix and that definitely helps the mix as a whole (if its a stereo mix of course).

 

[Marko 1]

What mic will you use for the overhead?

Some little condenser mics designed for drum overheads, from a kit, I just never used them.

I am curious as to why overheads need to be condensers, but they're small/light and I suppose it'll work.

Again, I've never done overheads, and I'm just the half-ass PA guy for the band.

Also I'm not doing stereo.

Thanks again.

 

[JRA]

I'm not doing stereo

then you may not need two overheads!

i use two (actually it's a stereo condenser), for coverage and because i mix the live performance in stereo. small diaphragm condensers are typically used for their clarity/frequency-response/noise floor.

IME, better to use one (as opposed to none) if the drummer's style has any cool cymbal work, or in general, "intricacies."

 

[Marko 1]

then you may not need two overheads!

i use two (actually it's a stereo condenser), for coverage and because i mix the live performance in stereo. small diaphragm condensers are typically used for their clarity/frequency-response/noise floor.

IME, better to use one (as opposed to none) if the drummer's style has any cool cymbal work, or in general, "intricacies."

Thanks JRA.

 

[AGCurry]

I am curious as to why overheads need to be condensers

They don't.

Really, the number of mics and their placement depends on what you want the band, including drummer, to sound like.

 

[sawzalot]

I use kick, snare, and two overheads for most gigs and it works fine. I chose Oktavia Mk-012s for the overheads because they have less sizzle than most SDC mics which helps balance the cymbals with the toms.

 

[JimmyM]

Thanks for the response...

Do I have to use two overheads?

I can mic two toms with one mic, but then I can't use my drum/tom mics that have integrated rim clips, that's why I'm hoping one overhead will cover it, and save me some mics and channels.

In a small room, I would debate the need for tom mics. I would do kick, snare and two overheads to get better coverage.

 

[juancaminos]

I use kick, snare, and two overheads for most gigs and it works fine. I chose Oktavia Mk-012s for the overheads because they have less sizzle than most SDC mics which helps balance the cymbals with the toms.

I have done this on several occasions and it worked well.

 

[roller]

I'm a big fan of the M/S pair when miking a drum kit or a piano, especially when time or a limited number of mics is a factor.

 

[cheechi]

I use kick, snare, and two overheads for most gigs and it works fine. I chose Oktavia Mk-012s for the overheads because they have less sizzle than most SDC mics which helps balance the cymbals with the toms.

do you use the pencils overheads, or different type for the overheads?

 

[erratick]

I'm a glyn johns method guy.

Or modified sometimes because double kick.

So- one mic kick. Then two over heads- pan these in the recording some so you can get a nice stereo image. The spacing on these is important to the snare. You can end up with phase problems if you just throw them around. I just use a mic cable as a "measuring tape".

Sometimes snare mic, sometimes not.

So you can do it with 3 or 4 mics.

What is Glyn Johns technique? - DRUM! Magazine

I rarely mic toms or individual drums other than the kick. sometimes the snare.

Drawback: room bleed if you're playing with a band.
Positives: easy, sounds great, doesn't use many mics or tracks.

 

[Hawk256]

Used to get by with kick mic, snare mic and spitting a single mic between two toms. When drummers had 9 piece sets, that was still 3 tom mics. 2 overheads were pretty standard but occasionally had to get by with one. So for a 9 piece set were were using 8 mics and 8 channels from the mixing board. There was one "special" drummer who wanted 12 total mics and had his own mics and mixing board just for drums. 16 channel boards were standard for working bar bands at the time. It was bad enough to give half of them to one member but nodody was giving up 3/4 of them to one person.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

This is my kit (my rehearsal room) with the new drummer's added two toms.

Yeah, I know what it looks like, lol... but he's a good drummer and a great guy.

This will be the setup with his kit when we hit the stage again (not for a couple months).

I'm used to 4 or 5 pc, I close-mic snare and toms with mics that clamp to the rims, standard kick mic setup, never did overheads.

I'm short one tom mic now (have only one extra), and would rather not mic all these toms individually,

so I was thinking (scary, I know), just mic the snare, kick, and one overhead on the tom side of the kit.

Is that a thing?

I’ve seen that work professionally many times.

 

[sawzalot]

do you use the pencils overheads, or different type for the overheads?

The Oktava 012s are small diaphragm condenser (SDC) mics (pencils). The Oktava’s are much darker-sounding than most SDC’s. They work well for me as overheads because at most of my venues I don’t need to emphasize the cymbals much—the room is small enough, and the vocal mics pick up plenty of bleed from the cymbals—but they do a nice job of picking up a balanced mix of the toms and cymbals when placed so they cover the kit. It’s probably all wrong from a purist’s viewpoint, but it works for what I need.

 

[smo]

so I was thinking (scary, I know), just mic the snare, kick, and one overhead on the tom side of the kit.

Is that a thing?

It is, but given the height of your roof and proximity to walls, you're gonna have to experiment to get it sounding good.

My preference for demo-level recording, would be a simple 4 mic setup of Snare, Kick & two overheads.
I've tried lots of dynamics on snare, my fave is still SM57 for snare up top, but if you have a clip on, micing the bottom of the snare in addition, can get some big meaty snare sounds.
Kick will take a while to get a good mix of boom & attack, you'll need to experiment with placement given the big differences in mics out there.
The two overheads (preferably SDC) should measure the same distance from the snare. I tend to aim them mostly down, aiming mostly towards the snare, one above the hi-hat, one above the floor tom(s). You need them high, but not too close to the roof. One of the recording studio's I've been to had mic stands attached to the roof for this purpose! Experimentation is key here, just keep fiddling until you get something you like.
Good luck

 

[Marko 1]

It is, but given the height of your roof and proximity to walls, you're gonna have to experiment to get it sounding good.

Thanks, all good advice I'm sure,

but I was looking advice on how to best mic that configuration for live use, not for that room.